USA Wrestling hosts U23 Team Trials at Mayo Civic Center

October 09, 2017 12:58 AM

(ABC 6 News) – On Saturday USA Wrestling hosted the world team trials at Mayo Civic Center. The U23 world team trials is an event for female and male wrestlers ranging from the ages of 18-23. The athletes can be college students, graduates, or top wrestlers in high school.

The trials are the qualifying event for all three Olympic disciplines for the U23 World Championship, including the men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle, and the Greco-Roman. The wrestlers must win the best of a three match series in the finals, allowing them to qualify for the U23 World Championship event which takes place in Bydgoszcz, Poland from November 21-26.

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This allows young athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills and take their talents to another level.

“It was a great experience," U23 Team Trial Champion Alejandro Sancho said. "This was the first time the United states had this type of tournament, U23, and I think it’s a great opportunity for the kids younger than 23."

Sancho is a Greco-Roman competitor, who attends Northern Michigan University and recently finished second at the Senior World Team Trials this past May.

“I've never been to Poland, it’s going to be a good tournament, (and) I’m going there obviously to win a World Championship for the Americas,” Sancho added.

“This was really a different kind of tournament," U23 Female Team Trial Champion Forrest Molinari said. "Having a neck injury I didn’t think I was going to be able to ever wrestle again, so that was really a difficult struggle because I live and breathe wrestling. This tournament was just being grateful that I can still wrestle and I can compete.”

Molinari is a graduate from King University in Bristol, Tennessee and has been wrestling for the past eight years.

“I’m going to Poland in November, I want to get a goal medal. That’s all I want right now, I'm ready to get back on the mat get training and get that gold medal,” Molinari added.

Both Sancho and Molinari are just two of hundreds of wrestlers that were able to compete in the U23 Team Trials.

The U23 Team Trials continue on Sunday at Mayo Civic Center from 9:00p.m. – 6:00p.m.